Rise of the Death Eaters [3]

Chapter 51: Dolores vs Emmeline

(cue the boxing bells) 

It took longer than anticipated for my mother to show up at Hogwarts. The letter Snape must have sent her either got lost for 2 weeks or Emmeline was just too busy to put on her mothering hat and stir up trouble.

Either way, when I spotted my mother loitering outside the great hall in the tail end of April, I cursed for naively thinking she wouldn't come to Hogwarts.

The snow had since completely melted on the grounds with the smell of fresh nature wafting in the wind, reminding all of us in our winter blues that summer was inbound. And OWLs were leering ever closer, two weeks to be exact.

Umbridge's reign hadn't been pleasant either, with all the students with inferiority complexes strutting the halls with the Inquisitor squad pin gleaming on their chests. Since the change in headmasters, the squad was no longer made up of only Slytherin house. There were a few up-turned Ravenclaws that felt God on their shoulders, and some turn-coat Hufflepuffs who believed in being both judge and executioner. The one house that seemed to avoid the squad altogether was Gryffindor. Whether it was because most of the D.A. was made up of that house or that Harry Potter was their house hold name, in the end, they stood strong as a unit with scars on their hands that gleamed in the afternoon sun with a course reminder to not tell lies.

It was the first thing I covered up once I spotted my mother. Followed by brushing back my hair and internally cursing for skipping hair day the other night out of laziness.

My mother caught me walking with Sam as we slowed our step, having just come from Defense Against the Dark Arts, and was stopping now for some lunch. It was hard for me not to spot my mother in the hall. She stood out strongly against the medieval castle like the women in white you read about in old novels.

My mother was clothed in a swan necked robes of sage green that made her skin look wonderfully pale and highlighted the green of her eyes. Even her hair shone beautifully in a half up style, softening the sharpness of her profile. The style was new to her but remained oddly familiar to me. It only took another moment as my mother walked over to me in a trial of flowing material for it to click.

She was wearing her hair like Narcissa Malfoy.

"I'm sure you know why I am here, Mon Ange."

I didn't have time to respond before the usual exchange of bise followed by my mother looking me over happened. Sam already knew her place in all this and detached herself from the two of us, integrating herself into the shadows by the wall.

I caught sight of Ella walking with Ginny from the opposing stair well as my mother continued to decipher every last mistake I've made with my appearance today. Ella didn't need a name tag to know who the woman was in front of me. My mother and I weren't exactly polar opposites in profile.

"You've gain weight." I turned back to my mother who folded a curl of my hair from my face and released a sigh of tsk's as she let go of that strand, rubbing her fingers together. "And what's this?" she asked, raising her fingers toward my eyes. "Ava- are you trying to look rancid? Your hair is atrociously greasy—let me see those nails."

She took my hands and displayed them in front of her, nails up to show my chipped red nails. A disgusted sigh released itself from my mother before she caught sight of the real problem.

"What's this?"

She went to roll up the sleeve of my left hand before I yanked my hand away subconsciously.

"I didn't expect you would have the time to come here," I stated icily, making my mother falter.

"Excuse me?"